1) James had to fly to Mumbai for a workshop but forgot his passport at his parents' house which was 30 minutes away in the opposite direction of the airport. 2) They rushed to his parents' house to get the passport, broke into the house, and returned to the airport with only 5 minutes to spare before his flight. 3) Wits University in South Africa was transitioning their student records system to a new Oracle system, which was facing criticism for frustrating students. The registrar said the transition would be difficult but the new system would make students' lives easier in the long run.

1. Journalism Practice Vuvuzela By Erica Dreijer

2. February 2007

3. Flying by the seat of your pants ERICA DREIJER TAKE the Amazing Race, add the car chase from Bullitt and an equal measure of an Indiana Jones adventure and you have an airport drop-off with my boyfriend James (better known as the “most disorganised person in the world”). James had to fly out the morning before hosting a workshop in Mumbai. Since he travels business class, we arrived at the airport 45 minutes prior to his departure. I off-loaded James at the drop-off zone but was immediately hauled back. He had left his passport at his parents home in Germiston. His house keys were 30 minutes in the opposite direction in Rivonia and his parents were away on holiday so there was no one to let us in. Business as usual! We’re in luck, the following flight out to India leaves at 14:00 and will arrive just in time for his 9:00 meeting. We screech into the complex, break into the house using a garden gnome and neighbours pile out of their homes to see what the racket is all about. James pays a neighbour to take care of the broken window. Passport in hand we head back to the airport. As we pull in, the travel agent informs us that British citizens living outside the country now require a visa for India. Off to the Indian Embassy. They inform us that they will be closing in 15 minutes and that he requires passport photos for a visa, though they at least agree to wait for us! First stop, Rosebank Mall to get photos and finally we reach the embassy! A visa is issued within 10 minutes - now the embassy’s official record. With five minutes to spare, James checks in. Erica checks out.

4. March 2007

5. Oracle: slow start, big finish? ERICA DREIJER MOVING all Wits’ records from an antiquated system to the extremely complex Oracle system will still take time and headaches, but it will make students’ lives easier in the end. This is the message from Registrar Derek Swemmer, in response to the flood of criticism over the university’s new computer system. In a campus poster, the Progressive Youth League claims: “The supposedly efficient I-Wits Oracle system is nothing but a system set specifically to frustrate our students and put their futures at stake.” It forms part of a broader accusation that: “These unfortunate realities further strengthen our view that some reactionary sections of Wits management have secretly and illegally launched an anti-transformation agenda to make the well being of particularly disadvantaged students more complex and harder than ever.” The Oracle system is based on newer technology, says Swemmer. In time, the plan is for students to have access to their own information and possibly even to register online. It should serve as an integrated system – serving both students and administration. It has SMS options and modern pull-down menu screens. However, he says the transition phase is bound to be difficult. The original Student Information Records System (SIRS) was developed in 1983. It was written in an antiquated computer language, and was made up of 6 000 programs. All these had to be transferred. Upgrades often produced unexpected and embarrassing outcomes. SIRS was at the end of its usable life, says Swemmer. Oracle consists of 800 different screens. It will take time to learn all the features on each. Swemmer says staff will all be trained and glitches ironed out before management considers any intervention. Responding to the Progressive Youth Alliance request for a Commission of Inquiry, Swemmer says: “The implementation of a complex system requires a period of implementation and the ironing out of any elements of the application that are not operating as smoothly as desired. “ It is normal in a system that will only have been fully used by the end of a complete academic year to take stock of its efficiency at the end of that implementation period. An inquiry at this time would be premature and Senate did not endorse the request having accepted this point.” Any computer programming problems should be reported to the CNS helpline on 011-717-1717. If the problem is not computer-related, students should speak to academic administrators in their faculty offices. For more information, consult http://intranet.wits.ac.za/i-wits